Funeral Partners narrows its gender pay gap in 2024
While men continue to earn more on average than women, the narrowing of these gaps suggests that pay equity is improving across the wider workforce
Funeral Partners has made progress in reducing gender-based disparities in pay and reward, as its 2024 Gender Pay Gap Report revealed a median gender pay gap of 3.6% – a reduction from 4.2% a year earlier.
The mean pay gap also narrowed slightly to 13.2%, down from 13.8%. While men continue to earn more on average than women, the narrowing of these gaps – particularly the median figure – suggests that pay equity is improving across the wider workforce.
It comes as the network of funeral directors continues to align legacy pay structures with a fairer, more modern reward strategy – a move that may resonate across the funeral profession.
The report, which is based on data from a workforce of 1,021 employees as of 5 April 2024, also revealed a 15% year-on-year growth driven by organic expansion and acquisitions.
Funeral Partners wrote in its report: “The group is satisfied with its latest set of gender pay results, which demonstrate overall that the gap in pay and reward metrics between genders is narrowing. This development is in the context of the focus the group has applied to its pay and reward framework overall, to ensure that the group is paying its employees fairly.”
However, the report highlighted that gender imbalance persists in certain pay quartiles: the lower and upper quartiles remain male-dominated, while the middle quartiles are skewed toward female employees.
This distribution reflects industry-wide trends, including a “significant” number of semi-retired men in lower-paid operational roles, and more men in senior management positions. The group acknowledged that while acquisitions bring new talent and opportunity, they can also introduce legacy pay gaps that take time to address.
Funeral Partners is planning targeted pay adjustments in 2025, with a focus on raising pay more significantly in lower-paid roles, where women are more represented. This strategy is expected to further reduce the gender pay gap and promote a more balanced reward structure.